Archive for tech4mathed

Snagit Beta for Mac and my final 3D Flash

Today I downloaded the Beta version of Snagit for Mac!  I am so excited!  I have it on my Windows computer, but I usually use my Mac since I have Adobe Web Premium on it, and have really missed out on using Snagit.  Jing is great for a free program, but Snagit is amazing!

*Here is a link to download the Beta Version of Snagit for Mac

… and here is a link to the final version of my Flash animation that introduces Volume

 

Fun creating a Flash Animation for a 3D image in 3D!



Today I spent quite a few hours building “blocks” (cubes) from scratch in Flash and placing them into
3 dimensional space to fill a rectangular prism!

It was a visually interesting problem to try to figure out which cubes to put in first, and
which ones had to be on a higher layer in Flash then the other ones!

Plus I had to try to get them to “fit” into a geometric rectangular prism. (OK, I gave up, they didn’t fit exactly!)

The end product wasn’t too bad though! (this is a JING video taken of just part of the Flash animation)

 

My Next Adventure in Teaching

In just a couple weeks I will be down in Tucson, AZ giving a hands-on workshop to teachers and administrators.  They will have full versions of software in a computer lab to play with!

A representative from the AZ Department of Education emailed me and asked me if I would give a workshop this summer on using technology to teach math, and I jumped at the chance!

I, however, did not write up the introduction to my workshop, as you can see below:

I am actually teaching more than the Livescribe Pulse smartpen in my 3 1/2 hours.   I am also going to focus on Animationish (FableVision) and Workspace (eInstruction), along with showing Jing and Google apps.    I hope to have time to share a little about Hyperstudio5 as well!

Here is a link to the conference details:

Arizona Career and Technical Education Conference 2010

Hopefully I will see some of you there!

 

embedding Hyperstudio directly into the blog

 

My Activities at ISTE 2010 in Denver

Link to the actual Hyperstudio Stack in HTML5

I had a great time at ISTE!  This is the first time I have ever been to a conference and stayed in the vendor area the entire time!

I worked with several companies while I was there.   Every day I spent some time in the eInstruction booth showing folks how I use the Mobi, CPS Pulse student response clickers, ExamView and Workspace in my own classes.   That was very exciting!  I was so busy that I didn’t get any photos of their booth!

I also presented with Jim Marggraff, CEO and founder of the Livescribe Pulse smartpen at a breakfast on Tuesday morning.   It was amazing to meet the man who invented the Leap Pad and the Livescribe Pulse smartpen!  I presented the next day at their poster session as well.

I spent a lot of time in the FableVision Learning booth as well, with my friends Peter and Paul Reynolds and the FableVision Learning staff!   I finally got to meet Peggy Healy Sterns, who created Stationary Studio and The Graph Club (Tom Snyder Productions).  She is currently working on a new project called fab@school with FableVision and Mackiev Software (and other great folks).  Photos and more information about this project if you click on the photo above!

You can see some photos of my adventure on the link below:  It will take you to my Hyperstudio 5 stack on the web.    If you are using a Mac, you need to use Safari, and on a PC, you need to use Internet Explorer (there is a plug-in for Hyperstudio for Safari and Internet Explorer).  I had fun making it!  Be sure to click on the pictures!  Some will take you to other websites and some open videos!  Pretty neat software created by my great friend Roger Wagner (Mackiev Software sells Hyperstudio 5), who spent some time showing me the ins and outs of Hyperstudio AND a chained Bible from the 1500s!  I wish I had a photo of that

 

Upate on ISTE Breakfast with Livescribe

To see the article directly, go to Livescribe Blog

This is the breakfast I will be speaking at, right after Jim Maggraff, Chairman and CEO of Livescribe Inc!

 

Speaking at ISTE 2010 with Livescribe!

I am excited to be able to present how I use the Livescribe Pulse smartpen twice at ISTE!    On Wednesday, from 11-1 I have been asked to help present their poster session:

My greatest excitement, however, is having the incredible opportunity to co-present with Jim Marggraff, Chairman and CEO – Livescribe Inc. at a breakfast on Tuesday.    I will be presenting on how I use the Livescribe Pulse smartpen to help answer student homework questions and to create online examples for learning new material in my Hybrid Algebra courses.

I am a featured presenter on the Livescribe website.  To see some of my pencasts, go to
My Community Page

 

ISTE update – opportunities with FableVision Learning

I am excited to share another part of my upcoming ISTE conference with you.  I found out just today that I will have the pleasure of helping with the Constructivist Celebration the day before ISTE begins!   As a FableVision Learning Amabassador, I am often given amazing opportunities to work with the great folks at FableVision Learning during conferences and workshops like this!

To learn more about the Constructivist Consortium, go to the website at:
http://www.constructivistconsortium.org/cc2010/index.html

During the ISTE conference I will also be helping out in the FableVision Learning booth, showing some of their wonderful software products like Animationish and Stationary Studio.    I am really excited to meet the  designer of Stationary Studio, Dr. Peggy Healy Sterns,  who has a new project called Fab@School.  She will be at ISTE and available to share details of her newest journey!

 

MyScript for Livescribe: a truly amazing tool!

I have been searching through the Livescribe website looking for some great applications for Administrators, since I will be presenting a demo on how to use the LivesScribe Pulse smartpen to the President’s office at my college on Monday.

I’ve had the MyScript application since I purchased the pen over a year ago, but never really tried it since I use my pen to write out math.  I assumed it would not translate it very well.      I was glad tonite to find out I was wrong!    I took a story problem I had written with my pen and “translated” it into text and it came out really close to the original!    I would assume most people would use the translator to convert their hand written notes (no sound or animation) into typed text, and it would be fantastic for that!   But in taking a math problem and converting it, I realize how useful this conversion tool could be for writing a test!   I could take some of the problems that I have posted, and translate them into text to include on my test covering that material.   That would save a lot of time not having to type out the question.   My brain is now buzzing with ideas on how I can use this amazing tool!

I have included a short video and some screen shots of how I converted a story problem using MyScript.

In the video you will see that I started the process by opening up my Livescribe Desktop.  From there I selected a pencast, and then went up to the menu “File” and then “convert to text”:

I found it easier to show the first steps in a movie.  The original pencast (static now) is on the left, and the new typed translation is on the right hand side below.  You can see that the translator did a pretty good job!

Now I can go in, line by line, and edit any of the text that is incorrect

It is really exciting how many new things I am learning about my LiveScribe Pulse smartpen, now that I am starting to teach others about how to use it!  Isn’t that the way it always works?  🙂

 

Getting ready for ISTE 2010 in Denver!

Over the next few weeks I will posting about some Educational Technology companies I will be presenting for, and working with, at ISTE 2010 in Denver.

Today I had a chat with some colleagues at eInstruction about my role for them at ISTE.  I was selected to be one of the original cadre of National Certified Instructors for eInstruction, and recently underwent a fantastic 3-day training event in Maryland!   I met some amazing teachers there, and learned more about several educational (and inspirational) products that I am very excited to share with other teachers at ISTE!

I will be working in one of eInstruction’s  “sharing stations” (my terminology, not eInstruction’s)  helping teachers form ideas on how to use the Mobi, the CPS Pulse clickers and Interwrite Workspace, to enhance any classroom activity or lesson.

The Interwrite Workspace software is the “heart” of the collaboration between the Mobi and the Clickers in an interative classroom experience.    This software allows the teacher to present their lesson using any software on their computer or website, and then have students participate with the activity or lesson with both Mobis and CPS Pulse Clickers for immediate feedback.   The Mobi also allows the teacher to walk around the room and engage with their students on a more personal and interactive level.

The Mobi is a mobile interactive whiteboard:

The CPS Pulse clickers work seemlessly to send immediate feedback to the LCD screen on the Mobi, and allows the students to input anything from letters and numbers, to math symbols!

If you plan on being at ISTE 2010 in Denver, please stop by the eInstruction booth and say hi!

 

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